Honduras

Honduras. Football has long, but obscure history in this Central-American country. Obscure to the world at large, that is. The first professional championship was played in 1965-66 and since than followed the ‘European’ format of a season spread in two years – fall and spring. As for the formula itself, it was a copy of the Mexican football: the small top league was divided into 2 groups of 5 teams, but they played against all other teams 3 times. The unfortunate with the least points was relegated to Second Division. The top 2 teams qualified to the next stage plus the 3rd-placed team with more points, to make final group of 5. The top 2 teams in this group moved to play the championship final in 2 legs. One team promoted from Second Division.
Super Estrella (Danli el Paraiso) won the Second Division championship and was promoted to the top division. Standing from left: Moises Flores, Hector Posantes, Misael Pinto (Uruguayan), “Tanque” Ramirez (Costarrican), Carlos Cruz Padilla, Edwin Geovany “Venado” Castro. First row: Jorge Arturo “Pando” Arriola, Victor Garay, Jorge “Tin” Martinez, Juan Cruz Murillo, Rogelio Zapata.
As often is the case in many countries, most clubs were based in the capital city – so, 4 teams in the top division were from Tegucigalpa, 2 from La Ceiba, 2 from San Pedro Sula, and Puerto Cortes and La Lima had one team each. The ‘big’ names reached the second stage.
Group A.
Platense (Puerto Cortes) was last with 22 points.
Curacao (Tegucigalpa), newly promoted this season, was 4th with 23 points.
Victoria (La Ceiba) – 3rd with 26 points. The season ended for them at this stage, for they finished with 1 point less than the third in Group B. However… rules stated that the winner of this stage – the team with most points, which would have been champion in a normal league table, qualified ‘automatically’ and because of that the next 2 teams in its group qualified ‘regularly’.
Marathon – 2nd with 28 points, and Olimpia – 1st with 32 points, qualified to the next stage.
Group B.
Universidad (Tegucigalpa) ended last with 21 points and since they were the team with least points in this stage, they were relegated.
Sula (La Lima) was 4th with 23 points. Second row from left: Juan Rigoberto Castillo, Edwin Fernando Yanes, José Erasmo “Urco” Castillo, Jose Luis “Pili” Aguirre, Santiago “Tigre” Carbajal, Jorge Ramas (Uruguayan). Crouching: Geovany “Yura” Rochez, Fernando Nuila, Reyes Meraz, Emilio “Chespirito” Hernandez, Danilo “Pilo” Enriquez.
Vida – 3rd with 27 points and Motagua – 2nd with 32 points, qualified by ‘regular’ rules. Real Espana topped the group with 36 points and since they had the most points at his stage, they qualified ‘automatically’ to the final as First-stage winners. What was the point of their playing in the next round is hard to fathom, though.
Strange, but there was something approximate to final standings in the opening stage: a playoff for the 2nd place. Olimpia and Motagua contested it and Olimpia won 2-0. True, both teams finished with not only equal points, but equal goal-difference (+8) too, but since there was no final table… and the championship was far from finished, what was the point?
Final group. The winner going to the final of the championship. But if Real Espana won this stage, there was not to be any final…
Marathon (San Pedro Sula) finished last with 4 points. Vida (La Ceiba) – 4th with 6 points. Motagua (Tegucigalpa) – 3rd with 8 points. Real Espana ended 2nd with 10 points, and Olimpia topped the final group with 12 points. Well, there was to be championship final after all.
Which proved to be dramatic and indecisive… Olimpia won the first leg at home 2-0, but in the second leg Real Espana won with the same result and no more goals were scored in extra-time. So, what now? Penalty shoot-out? A third match? Neither – the team with better regular season record was declared champion. Which was Real Espana.
Olimpia (Tegucigalpa) lost the title not on the field, but by the book. Coached by Uruguayan coach Estanislao Malonowski.
Real Espana (San Pedro Sula) clinched the title thanks to the rules. Yes, they had stronger overall season than Olimpia, but… did not prevail in the Final group and did not win the championship final. Lucky title, to a point. It was their 5th. Top row from left: Wilmer “Superman” Cruz, Karl Roland, Allan Antoni “Cochero” Costly, Daniel Uberti, Juan Manuel “Nito” Anariba, Ruben Alonso (Uruguayan).
Front: Carlos Orlando Caballero, Giovanni Gayle ” Bombillo” Alarcon, Juan “Montuca” Castro, Marco Antonio “Maco Anariba”, Carlos Humberto “Macho” Ruiz.
Even with brief and scarce information, one notices many foreign players – and coaches, as well – along with British-sounding names. Honduran football may have been weak, but it was professional, so foreigners played in the country for years. Many foreigners, although, understandably, obscure players. As for British names, such players were not foreign – Honduras has an English-speaking enclave. From it came Karl Roland, Allan Costly (Real Espana), Rudy Williams (Olimpia), and many others – almost entirely black players, which suggests the roots of the English-speaking Hondurans: slavery. In the realm of CONCACAF, Hondural had strong football and teams.